Dai Fa Min Kam

(San Kam, Lok Kam)

Dai Fa Min Kam (Dahuamian Jin, Painted Face Kam), believed by some to be Lok Kam or San Kam properly(Xin Jin, New Kam), was an actor of the Red Junk Opera, in the 1850′s, who played the roles of the Dai Fa Min(Painted Face) and Chao the clown. It is believed after the Opera Ban lifted, he continued to work for the “8 Harmonies Union”.

Dai fa Min studied the traditional opera methods as well as dramatic crowd-pleasing operatic martial arts. Kam was also said to have been only one of four disciples, that learned the entire Wing Chun system, according to Yuen Kay Shan (Grand-Student of Dai Fa Min Kam).
Accounts vary as usual for this time period, on who Kam learned from, as well what he learned, as variations in oral tradition suggests Dai Fa Min Kam, knew either one of two systems, or both systems. The first called the “Weng Chun Kuen” system of Chi Sim- some times thought to be the “male” Wing Chun system (Either External and/or long bridge Wing Chun system) and the other, the “Wing Chun Kuen” system of Leung Bok Lao, sometimes considered the “female” version of Wing Chun (Internal and/or short bridge). Various oral traditions state Dai Fa Min Kam learned from either Chi Sim, Leung Lan Kwai, Leung Bok Lao, or Wong Wah Bo.

According to Pan Nam’s third Sifu, Lai Hip Chai, as related by Pan Nam, Kam was also known as Lok Kam (Lu Jin). Lok Lan-Goon invited him to retire to Jinju village, Sanshui county. The Lok family would than care for Kam’s support and needs and he would pass on his Wing chun methods.